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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Happy Accidents

There is something I must confess to all of you! Even though I feature photos on this blog every day along with my stories, I don't consider myself much of a photographer. I really consider myself more of a quiet adventurer, and more than a bit of a story teller.

Sure, I know that I sometimes come up with a gem or two with my photography, but that's mostly because I take so many photos. And when I think about it, I have gathered some good experience over these past couple of years while doing it. I guess I'm not too bad at all.

But my photography is still a lot of happy accidents, with a little bit of skill thrown in. The picture at the top, for instance, was never intended for anyone's eyes but mine. I take a picture of that sign and benches every time I go to that park. I do it only to mark my place. I don't really even pay much attention when I get it. But why am I showing it to you then?

I'm showing it to you because of this next picture. You see, I decided to go hiking in a pretty good snowstorm last week, just for fun. When I got to the park I decided to get a few good pictures of the snowfall for you. I tried every camera trick I knew to get some snow to show up for you.

It worked pretty well most of the time, but not every time. It was snowing much harder than you see in this last picture. As it turns out, the first picture, my place marker, shows the snowstorm better than any picture I purposely took for you. That's what I call a happy accident.

Tell me what kind of happy accidents you have had. Have you ever been looking through your pictures at home and discovered something much better than you intended? Has something happened that didn't even involve photography? Tell me about it. I'm sure everyone else who visits here might be interested as well.

that is a good example of a happy accident. i'm sure i have had some of those, but again, my sometimers has kicked in and i can't remember anything right off the top of my head. have a wonderful day my friend...hugz!

There have been so many, mostly I'm just happy if I get a clear shot. It is true though that the more pictures you take the better you get. Not to mention that sometimes it takes dozens of bad shots just to get that one good one.

My best ever happy accident was when we were on holiday one year...we were playing a game on the beach (please remember this was in the day before digital cameras) and when we got the photos developed there was one where my hubby is looking at the sticky bat in his hand as if the ball should be there and the ball is just behind him in mid air...he had obviously been nowhere near catching it....it was a classic photo and the ball was moving so fast I had no idea what the picture would reveal...I'm sure there are more but that one is most prominent in my mind!!

I am delighted to report that there are many such happy accidents when photographing our horses. In fact, a couple of them were so darn "happy" I ended up listing the prints for sale in my Etsy shop :o)P.S. You probably could have told us all you were a professional photographer - I certainly would have believed you!

oh, i do understand what you mean about trying to photograph the snowfall, but doesn't show :) I too have that similar incident before.

one of my happy accidents is shooting the Yosemite waterfall at night, when I saw the image, there was a moonbow, but I could not see any moonbow when I was watching the waterfall. I guess, my eyes are not good at dark and the camera showed me what I failed to see.

It happens to me all the time, Ratty. Especially with wildlife....many times I take ducks or birds and when I download them I find out they caught a fish, or a snake...or I see another duck I wasn't even aiming at.And when I do macro shots, I am always amazed to see the flowers close up and how beautiful they are, or that I caught a bee in midflight or something. That is what I love about photography!

Well Ratty, I consider you a great photographer. I like those photos and I can't believe you were able to get these in a snowstorm. For me it's usually the other way around. I'll take photos that look great at the time, then I get them home and they're crappy which basically means that I cannot even consider myself a photographer :)

I think my best lucky photo this year was the female oriole. I couldn't even tell what kind of bird it was till I looked at the pic later. I took ONE pic before it flew away, and it's pretty good. I posted it on July 11 on MQD

I tend to approach photography a lot like you describe here--then I edit like crazy to get the "good ones." But I wanted to suggest a snow storm success I had that you may wish to try next time you're in a blizzard: switch to video mode! I got some great sequences by standing in one place, then slowly turning around and round while the snow just came and came...I should see if I can find that clip--there was even howling wind in the soundtrack--and all without editing!

The Everyday Adventurer

Everyday and every day are commonly confused in English. There’s no difference in pronunciation, but using the wrong one when writing is a mistake in the everyday English language you use every day.

EverydayEveryday is an adjective that means commonplace, ordinary, or normal.

Example: These shoes are great for everyday wear.

Every DayEvery day means "each day."

Example: I go to the park every day.

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I Am The Everyday Adventurer

I am The Everyday Adventurer and I will take you on a journey through nature trails, local places, shops, bridges, parks, hiking, and other adventures. We'll get stranded on a deserted island, and find the way back to civilization. Learn what it's like to get caught in a winter blizzard. See photos of falling snow. A bridge to another world. Hidden rivers, and lakes. A creepy swamp. Wild animals, and strange plants. Who knows? You could discover your own everyday fun. This is a tour of the unknown and magical. We'll travel to Wonderland and back. You'll see the rabbit and the blue caterpillar. You'll even meet Alice. A trip through lost and hidden places. You'll see strange oddities that are rare and wondrous. How about a weird arcade of the bizarre? Or a look through time and history? It's all here. The world waits for you! So look around, and be amazed!